Cambodia 2020 - 12. Phare (The Cambodian Circus)

12.  Phare (The Cambodian Circus)

Lazing By the Pool

We were a bit sore the day after our Ta Prohm outing. We are not used to walking like this, not used to bending, stretching, reaching, and twisting our bodies for hours. Our feet are sore; Carol reminds me she is delicate.

Phare Circus Brochure

We spent the morning just soaking in the pool, reading and doing little.

It’s nice to be on ‘vacation’, we do not HAVE TO do anything.

For tonight though, we booked 2 seats incl. dinner, online for ‘Phare’ a Cambodian Circus on the order of Cirque du Soleil, but different. Carol did all the bookings, good job Carol.

Phare is on the other side of the city and we need to hire a tuk-tuk, but how much do we pay for this? The driver also needs to ‘wait’ for us to take us back to the 

Phare Circus Boutique

hotel after the show. Our dinner starts at 7PM, the show starts at 8 PM, and we get out?  Around 9 PM?  It will be pitch dark outside.  A night time tuk-tuk is a different sort of tuk-tuk. 

 How do I tell all that to the driver?

Well, meet Ana (we have no picture of her) but she was top-shelf at our hotel. Anything you wanted, if she could find a way, she did it, got it.

Mr Touch, Our Tuk-tuk Driver

We met Mr. Touch #2; he would become ‘our’ tuk-tuk driver from now on. I was a bit leery about at him first, but he turned out to be great. His English was poor but Ana explained where we had to go and when we’d be ready to come back.

It helps to have good support, good connections in Cambodia.

And thank you Ana.

Before I tell you about the show, or the dinner I need to say this.

Phare is a special program to allow disadvantaged, at risk, young people to grow. It’s a school, it’s a shelter, and it’s a home.

Balancing

It is wonderful to see how much energy those young people put into their performance. They are good, no doubt, World Class.

Comedy

I believe the ‘performers’ are on a rotating schedule since they perform every night. It’s a grueling performance, hard on their bodies. But they love it, live it, and want to do it.

Pole Climbing

Design on Water Bottle

We had first row seats, since we ordered tickets on line. We were treated like VIP’s. We even received a gift of an aluminum water bottle, filled with cold water for the show. Bamboo paddles were given out to fan ourselves if we felt too hot, but I did not feel the heat being a bother under the tent. We had to return the bamboo paddles after the show but we could keep the water bottles.

Expect the unexpected is part of their motto. You can see why they are so good in this video, too. Video is on the link. The school the performers come from has a body of 1200 Students.

Strength

Phare Groups, is another part of this ‘School for Disadvantaged’ but here the focus is more on film, creative thinking,

These videos are a small sample of the performances we saw which when seen together told a story.

Women Doing Acrobatics

It’s a good school system, many people want to attend, and the tests are rigorous. But above all, you need to be eligible which unfortunately means, that you need to be poor and in need.

Still, it is wonderful, performing art at its finest, helping young people in many other ways, helping however they possibly can. All of our admission dollars, the boutique sales and the food sold went directly to the school. I felt like I helped out.

Women and Men Cannot Touch In Cambodian Culture

This is a highly recommended place to visit when you are in Siem Reap.

The food, though…. Meh…was too commercial. The place had no sizzle.

We had a 3 course dinner in an outdoor place. Starters were one spring role, one beef and one fish shish-kabob stick. The main course was fish amok and rice. Dessert was a fried banana in a sweet sauce.  

Fish Amok, Fish in Coconut Milk, a National Dish
It Was Better at our Hotel

That part of the evening, the dinner could have been much better and that part needs help. I envisioned a gourmet evening, but it was more like a fast food service.  Not bad, but not that well prepared and set up either.  I would say they need a Phare section of Hotel/Hospitality to train them in modern ways to attract more clientele. Make the food world class, too.

All in all we had a great evening. The acrobats, the built in ‘show’ was fantastic. Well worth the money.

The show had a ‘theme’. It told the story of a bullied man.

Dessert Was Good

The show was filled with acrobatics, juggling, comedy, dance, pole climbing, tight rope walking, etc.  All very well done.

And yes, Mr. Touch, drove us back that night, he waited for us.